1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cutting tools, such as reciprocating saws. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reciprocating saw having a guide member coupled to a main housing for use in cutting workpieces.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cutting tools, such as reciprocating saws, commonly includes in front of a main housing a guide shoe or other guide member which is pressed against a workpiece during operation. The guide member is coupled to a slide shaft which is slidably provided in the main housing and is oriented parallel to the blade of the reciprocating saw. The blade commonly protrudes from the front end of the main housing. The slide shaft is secured to the main housing by a screw, such as a hexagon head bolt. To fix the guide member in a desired slide position with respect to the main housing, the hexagon head bolt is first loosened and the slide shaft is pulled out or retracted to the desired position. The hexagon head bolt is then tightened again to secure the slide shaft to the main housing, thus fixing the guide member in the desired position.
Conventional reciprocating saws require a tool, such as a hexagonal wrench in order to tighten and loosen the bolt. To overcome this inconvenience, the applicant proposed in Japan Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. 6-31916 a structure for permitting the position of the guide member to be adjusted without the use of any tool. In this structure, a manually-operated lever attached to the hexagon head bolt is rotated to tighten and loosen the bolt so as to adjust the position of the slide shaft and thus the guide member with respect to the main housing.
In the foregoing structure, however, if the lever protrudes at an angle from the main housing, the operator may have difficulty maintaining a secure hold on the main housing. Therefore, care must be taken during assembly of the tool at the plant to fit the manually-operated lever in an accommodating recess formed in the housing when the hexagon head bolt, is properly tightened to secure the slide shaft to the housing. As can be imagined, it is a troublesome and difficult task to coordinate the tightening rotation of the hexagon head bolt with the angle of the lever so that the lever is conveniently accommodated in the recess when the bolt is properly torqued.